Homeward Bound (posted after our return)

Here we are at LA International Airport, just hours away from boarding our plane back to Auckland, after spending 4 good days in Los Angeles visiting Disneyland and checking out some of the rides, including Indiana Jones and Splash Mountain where Troy and I got absolutely drenched and where we were able to get a photo of ourselves going down the big main drop. When we download it when we get home, check out the contrast between Troy's expression and mine :-)

We also went to Universal Studios, where we went on several rides including The Simpsons, the Back Lot tour, the Mummy ride and Transformers 3-D. As well as the Grand LA Tour on Independence Day, which was a good time to do it seeing that a lot of Americans head for the beaches and Disneyland to spend their Independence Day.

That night we joined in the atmosphere and watched a fireworks display just across the road from our hotel. Due to it being a special display, 4000 shells were set off rather than the usual 800. As well as the fireworks it was absolutely hilarious listening to all the car alarms being set off by them!

Weather-wise the 5 days we have spent in LA have been very sunny during the day and nice and cool at night which has been quite different from the weather we have been hearing about back home.

So this is it guys, 13 hours on a plane from LA to Auckland, and the best part of an hour from Auckland to Wellington, and I'll be back at Laura Ferg soon after that.

See you then!

Grant


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Location:LAX, Los Angeles, California, USA

Rome - vēnī vīdī vīcī

Rome - I came, I saw, I conquered... Or perhaps it conquered me. The temperature is currently 33 degrees and is supposed to get to 36! We are trying to stay out of the heat as much as possible today as we all got a bit too much yesterday. Even Jo had woozy spells while we waited 40 minutes for the last tour bus yesterday - although she had been walking around in it for 10 hours. In the morning we went into St Peter's Basilica and then around to the Sistene Chapel - which is a 1km walk around the outside of the Vatican walls, which doesn't sound much, especially in the context of how much walking we have done in the last 5 weeks, but you try doing it in jeans in this heat and see how much fun that is - to view Michaelangelo's masterpiece ceiling. Packed into a small chapel - and I mean like sardines - with about 2000 other people, shoulder to shoulder, all looking up. Jo cracked me up when she said in a hushed tone "is that it???". But she was referring to the whole artwork, as the entire ceiling and walls tell a story, but she thought it was only going to be the hand of God reaching out to Adam, which is only one part of the story, but is the centre piece. No photos allowed, and there are about 10 guards around the small chapel, constantly saying "ssshhhhhhhh" and "silencio" as soon as the noise level got above a murmur. We found it quite amusing, but NO LAUGHING! :-)

We have seen so many incredible sights in Rome, as Grant mentioned in his last blog. In addition to the colosseum, I went into the Roman Forum and walked up Palatine Hill. Yesterday we saw Trevi Fountain, which while a very impressive piece of art in itself, is not located in a massive piazza like I thought it was. We were able to Grant down to the mid-level but no further as it was packed with tourists. So Jo gave him a 2 euro coin to throw in to the fountain... I warned her that it was a dangerous idea, as Grant's eyesight is not the best. Well, if the tall guy sitting on the fountain's edge hadn't stood up and moved just at the moment he had, he would've copped that coin right between the eyes! It missed him by about two inches as it sailed past into the fountain.







The only major sight on my wishlist I haven't seen are the Spanish Steps. Will try to get there today but probably won't venture far from the apartment. Have spent most of the day indoors - i love aircon - but we'll see.

The Vatican - in its own right a separate country - is near to becoming the country I've been to most! Every time we leave our apartment, and head back to it, we pass thru St Peter's Square. So technically I've been to Vatican City 8 times now :-)



And one of my favourite things about Rome has to be the food. I've always enjoyed Italian food and this has been an amazing culinary experience. Eating genuine lasagne (my personal favourite), spaghetti, pizzas, other pastas. Delicious! Oh, I'm definitely coming back to Italy!

We fly out to L.A in the morning, where Jo will enjoy the trip the most I think. More shops than she can poke a stick at.

Next update from The Land of the Free and everything oversized - including the people!

Ciao!

Troy

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Location:Via Aurelia,Rome,Italy

Wheelchair over the river Tiber

After our first stop in Italy, which was Florence, where I demonstrated quite well that you do not actually have to actually walk the markets for 6 hours and buy absolutely nothing ie. Jo! Being in leather heaven, I picked up a genuine Italian leather belt, a new Italian leather bum-bag, and new wallet in 20 minutes flat! We also saw Florence's best known attraction, the statue of David, a very well known sculpture by Leonardo da Vinci.




We have now arrived in Rome, a very old and historical city built on the river Tiber. We are now relaxing at the hotel after our first full day of sight-seeing around the city in 34 degree heat, where ancient Roman ruins can be seen all around the city, including Rome's best known ruin, the Colosseum, where I got some really cool photos of myself dressed as the emperor Caesar with my two Roman centurions standing on either side of me.







Unfortunately, after a full day in Rome's sun and heat you start to feel an ancient ruin! We are here until Saturday and other things we are wanting to see will be the Vatican City, the Trevi Fountain, and the museum displaying 500 of Leonardo da Vinci's inventions. And of course you can't stay in Italy and NOT try some of the genuine Italian food, and so we have!

So not long before we are at home back in NZ. Next post from me from L.A

Grant

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Robbed in Nice-handbag heaven in Florence

So our last day in Nice - we wake up and I check my account to see I have been fleeced $2000! Don't know how but the money was taken out in Chicago - not a good start to the day! Calls to the bank and they put card fraud onto it - still waiting to hear if I can get it back - not a good start to the day. Anyway we headed into Nice - last day of driving thank goodness! So hot and very busy - international ironman on the next day so full of athletes - wish we could have watched the race - would have been amazing. Down to the beach and exactly as you see it in postcards - although no sand - all rocky!



Back to the pool and lovely dinner on the balcony watching the sun set - awesome!



Up at 4.30am to catch the train to Florence - crowded in a six seater compartment with the wheelchair squashed between us for - for 4 hours! We could hardly straighten our legs when we got out! Florence was awesome! My second fav city.



And our travel agent scored big time here - right outside our door were the markets - oh yea! Handbag heaven!

Watched jersey shore on telly that night when they were in Florence - funny going through the same streets the next night - couldn't find their pizza place though - sorry ness and Ben - would have taken photo for you - haha.



Over to the boys now
Jo x


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Barcelona to France

In addition to grant's great blog:
We arrived in Amsterdam and managed to have a very quick look around before poor grant was unwell-didn't get to see the things he wanted to see but fortunately he was feeling so much better by the time we arrived in Barcelona-we loved it here. Friendly people and awesome sights!




La sagrada familia was amazing! The queues were massive but we were fast tracked in-I can't believe they have been building this for over 100 years and still going!




The most beautiful sight I have ever seen was coming into a park and seeing this fountain-it was like something out of a fairy tale.



As grant said, this city is so wheelchair friendly and we walked again for hours over the 3 days. We had our first taste of sangria-love it!




Train ride to perpignan to pick up car-no gps-the ride to carcassonne was the beginning of 5 very very stressful driving days! The hotel here was so tiny we were all squashed into 1room so happy to leave here. Next day Grant was feeling a bit unwell so we decided to head direct to hotel in avignon where we had 2 really peaceful days on a secluded golf course and lovely pool. Grant enjoyed the timeout and swimming in the pool-weather amazing! Out in the wops so no tourist visits here. Then another hairy ride direct to nice where the weather has been amazing! More to come soon. Jo


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Sun, sea and skinny-feet dipping

Hi, me again

I forgot to mention that when we were in Barcelona, we went to the beach and I dipped my feet in the Mediterranean. Access for people with disabilities is so good that you can wheel a wheelchair down a wooden walkway - checking out the topless girls on the way - and get within 10 steps of the sea. I didn't know which way to look, mind you it wouldn't have mattered all that much, so I did get a bit of a stiff neck looking every which way, but thankfully that was all that got stiff!




Access around Barcelona for people with disabilities is generally very good. They even have accessible phone boxes for people in wheelchairs, with the phones down low. How cool is that?!

Two must-see attractions around Barcelona are the Gaudi architecture and La Rambla, the place to be in Barcelona.

Till next time

Grant

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Location:Chemin de la Blanchère,Vedène,France

Hot weather at last - pool time!

Bonjour from southern France

I thought it was about time I did another blog, so here I go.

Since our last blog in Amsterdam, we have been to Barcelona for two nights, where the weather was very warm, the people very friendly, and the atmosphere just what we wanted on our holiday. Barcelona is in the region of Spain where bullfighting is strictly prohibited, and that's no bull! Lol! And it was interesting to hear the cab driver say on the way to our hotel that the other regions of Spain where they do have bullfighting are treating the Catalonia region as second class and are trying to overturn their law. Bull fighting is seen as barbaric and cruel in Barcelona, whereas in other parts of Spain it is considered a tradition. Here is a photo of a bullfighting ring that is now disused.




We also found an amazing park with a big mammoth and a large fountain.






After leaving Barcelona we are now in southern France, sunning ourselves on the patio of our hotel room, waiting for the French kids to get out of the pool! Lol. Between Barcelona and Avignon, where we are now, we visited a small town called Carcassonne, where we had a good look around a medieval city.

All is good and we are going to eventually get back in the pool. The temperature is currently 30 degrees!

Until next time.

Grant


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Location:Chemin de la Blanchère,Vedène,France

Paris - the city of love and arrogance

Well, we've just left Paris. We came, we walked (a lot!), we saw. The buildings in central Paris are all 17th century so it's like going back in time. It really is a beautiful city, and we walked most of it (or that's what it felt like). The only major sightseeing we missed was Sacre Coeur, as it was a little out of the way. Rachel kindly offered to take us there by car but circumstances didn't allow. Despite this, we managed to go to the Louvre, the Château de Versailles, went up the Eiffel Tower, walked along the Seine every day, visited the Arc de Triomphe, walked up and down the Champs Élysées several times, went inside the Notre Dame church (the bells! THE BELLS! - my best hunchback impression, although there were no bells) and passed through the Place de la Concorde almost every day. The sights we saw were amazing and it is an amazing city to visit.

The traffic has to be seen to be believed, or rather the way Parisian's drive. There are no lanes on the roads and almost no one uses indicators - but why would they? There are no lanes to change into, just a different part of the road to use up, even though someone might already be using it! And I really wish I had taken video of going around the Arc de Triomphe! Wow! Parisian's seem to know how it works but you have to have balls to jump into the fray.

Unfortunately, the Parisian reputation for arrogance reared its ugly head on several occasions. I'm not going to tar all French with this brush yet, until we've experienced the south next week, but if you do not speak French, they will not volunteer information if you don't ask the right question. And it seems that they really hate their jobs if they are in contact with tourists - who are everywhere. Customer service doesn't seem to have made its way to Paris yet. When we went to the Eiffel Tower on Monday, they said the lift was out so we couldn't go up the tower. Naturally we assumed they meant the lift to the first and second floors several hundred meters up. We found out the next day that it was the wheelchair lift, which bypasses 6 stairs at ground level, that was broken, but they didn't provide us this basic information and we nearly missed out. If it hadn't been for Cyril (Rachel's husband) who called the Paris Tourism Board to complain, and get some answers, we would have missed out on going up the Eiffel Tower! When we showed up on Tuesday, they were bending over backwards to help us! Thank you so much Cyril! And Rachel, poor Rachel, who showed us the sights but didn't bring suitable walking shoes. Thank you for showing us around.

So now we are on the TGV to Amsterdam. Wow, these trains are FAST! Cool! Just stopped in Brussels but we couldn't get a photo together on the platform as I'm in cattle class and Grant had to be upgraded to 1st class (and Jo as his carer) because we weren't advised by the station clerk when we arrived that we had to board first (another example of lack of information if the right questions aren't asked) when it was blatantly obvious Grant would require assistance to board the train. Then another woman who tried to help us had a go at us for not turning up earlier - we had been there for an hour before the required boarding time lady! No one told us we had to board first.

Peter and Wendy, we are just passing through, or under, Antwerpen. I took a photo but it's a bit blurry!

Anyway, time to enjoy the sights passing us by at 300kph.

Troy, Jo and Grant


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Château de Groussay

Here are some pics of the grounds of Château de Groussay that friends of ours manage, that we visited today, which is absolutely stunning!



































Oh, and this is how they park their cars in Paris -yes, this car is parked with no one inside. In NZ they would get fined twice for parking on two crossings!



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Paris-sight-seeing and shopping

Wow-Paris is amazing! From the drive from the train to everyday we have been here has been incredible! Our friends from NZ were there at the station to pick us up-thank goodness! We had no idea how to converse but thanks to Rachel's fluent French( she now lives here) we found our way to the Hotel and then an amazing walk along the Seine,taking in all the famous landmarks-the Eiffel Tower,Arc de Triomphe,outside of the Louvre and back along the Champs Elysess-hours within arriving. The weather was nice then-but the rain is setting in-not stopping us though! Rachel's sister Helen was with us and we have just had such an amazing time-especially our all day trip out to the massive shopping mall while Troy and Grant went to their all day trip to Normandy. I was very restrained-haven't brought much yet-still time!! The Louvre was fantastic and great to actually experience going under the glass pyramid into an amazing collection of artwork-the wooden statues I have never seen anything like it-Mary magdalene especially-Vanessa you would not leave the Louvre-you would love it! Yesterday we had our first experience on the sidewalk having lunch,glass of wine and watching the people pass by-truly French experience. Today was something very special-thanks to our friends and their family we got to see Chateaux Versailles-this was not on our schedule due to trying to get there but thanks to Rachel,Helen,Cyril,Emily and Lisa we got to see the highlight of our trip so far-this is a must for anyone coming here-the ballroom with the chandeliers and the incredible gardens with fountains flowing to music was spectacular. From there,to an authentic food market to get lunch,back to their Chateau-an experience we will never forget. Grant has a cold unfortunately but thanks to my I-phone and the little French dad taught us as kids I was able to converse with the chemist-haha-I actually typed in what I wanted to say into my phone- put it on translate and voila! She knew what I was talking about. The language is beautiful and I love hearing Bonjour Madame everywhere I go. Tomorrow hopefully we will get up the Eiffel Tower but some pictures in the meantime:























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Location:Paris

Granty's week in London

Hello from central London,

We have been here for a week and are now winding down our London leg of the trip, and getting ready to go thru to Paris tomorrow. Over the past week we have done heaps in London, the first highlight for me was being directly by Big Ben as it struck 8am last Wednesday morning. We then carried on thru the streets of London to our first tourist attraction the Tower of London, where we checked out where Anne Boleyn was executed, where Guy Fawkes was questioned over the burning down of parliament, and where Sir Walter Raleigh and Thomas Moore were imprisoned. We were also entertained with stories of daring do and rebellion.

We also checked out sights around London, which up until now I had only learnt about in school, and seen in movies and in books, including Westminster Abbey, St Paul's Cathedral, and Tower Bridge. It's also been great fun to see all the iconic london cabs and double decker buses. And we've even taken a few rides in a few London cabs which has also been fun.







Other things we've done have been visiting Madame Tussauds Wax Museum and seen all sorts of wax figures of Jonah Lomu, Stephen Spielberg, and members of the Royal Family. One wax figure we saw was of Prince Charles and you could actually argue that he looks like that in real life!




Rocking down with We Will Rock You at the West End's Dominion Theatre and taking in a football friendly at Wembley Stadium.



Last night we found a real English pub where I had a good feed of bangers and mash, and a Guiness or two, and mixed with the locals.

Until the next blog, bye for now.

Grant


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Queen's Jubilee -River Pageant

Jo & Grant have headed to the Thames river to watch the River Pageant make its way towards Tower Bridge (more than 1000 vessels taking part!). They've been there about an hour and the Queens Barge is due to pass them in about... 3-4 hours! Hers is the first boat in the flotilla. As they are in a disabled area only one carer is allowed. Plus the fact that is only 11 degrees and raining, I have decided to skip the pageant and hope that Oxford St is open so I can get in a spot of shopping. This is my chance to use the Tube. Update to come from Jo & Grant later.


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Football at Wembley

Yesterday we went to the Camden Markets. It was a bit rushed and we didn't get to spend as much time there as we would have liked as we had to get back to the hotel to prepare for the England vs Belgium game at Wembley. The markets are pretty cool and bargains are everywhere. And the setting, in the old Horse Stables/Hospital, was very cool.



We returned to the hotel early and then made our way to Wembley for the game. Traffic was insane in both directions due to road closures for the Jubilee, the game and a car accident in Dagenham on the return journey, and it cost $NZ220 in taxis! But we've been pretty good with our money so far so it is all part of the experience (says the guy with Scottish blood in his veins). The game itself was a tight affair and I think England were lucky to win 1-0, with the Belgians giving the Poms a good run for their money. We all had a great time and can say we've been to Wembley to watch an England game.






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London by foot/wheelchair

We have done a LOT of walking since we got to London. On Wednesday morning we walked to the Tower of London (6 Kms each way) after the hotel staff suggested it was only a20-30 minute walk from our hotel. 90 minutes later, after walking the banks of the Thames we made it to the Tower of London. Lucky we got there early in the day as the crowds built up and there were people everywhere. We saw the Crown Jewels, which are quite spectacular! The history of the place was incredible and we stood on the very spot where Anne Boleyn (and countless others) were executed. Grant was able to leave his wheelchair and climb the "Bloody Tower" where the two Princes were murdered on Richard III's orders.


On Thursday we went to Madame Tussauds by tour bus, where we had great fun - when I work out how to add photos from the iPad I will add some great photos of Grant - but again ended up walking back to the hotel.


Jo discovered Oxford St on the way... Which she made full use of today, again walking back to the hotel, while Grant and I visited the Natural History and Science museums. We could have spent days in there.
Also today we went on the London Eye, which has fantastic views of London.
Tomorrow is a rest day until we go to Wembley for the England vs Belgium football match. We have been rising at 5am the first few days but I suspect tomorrow will be a sleep-in (8am if we're lucky).

Internet access issues

Hi everyone Sorry for the delay in updating the blog. You would NOT believe the issues we have had trying to connect to the Internet here in London! We were told by the hotel staff when we arrived that Apple devices (iPhones, iPads) could not use the hotel wifi due to an issue with BT (British Telecom) and the use of Flash, much to our immense frustration! And connecting with my travelSIM in my phone has been intermittent and inconsistent at best! And expensive. I spent $US65 just trying to maintain internet connectivity over the last few days with little joy. I have discovered today that the initial woman on the front desk had no idea what she was talking about and a more onto-it front desk staff member advised me today that auto-login just needed to be turned off... A simple wifi setting change. Bloody hell!!! Anyway, we are back in business so updates on our trip shall begin (at last). Troy

The incredible Beijing

Wow, at last We have connectivity. China blocks Facebook and blogging sites so we weren't able to update the blog while we were there. And now that we have arrived in London the apartments we are staying in use British Telecom, who have developed an issue with Apple devices using wifi - the use of Flash won't allow a connection to take place. So I (Troy) have resorted to using 3G on my phone to finally provide an update, so this will be brief. Beijing was amazing! Grant climbed the first set of stairs onto the Great Wall to an amazing crowd ovation. Everyone within 50 meters (and there were thousands on the Wall) turned and clapped Grant's fantastic effort. We then pushed him in his chair up to the first exit as the first section is incredibly steep. I then took on the challenge to climb to the top - about 3000 steps several hundred meters up. View was stunning but the smog made visibility difficult. Jelly legs at the top made the descent treacherous! Especially in 36 degree heat! We then went Tianenmen Square, the communist heart of China. My questions about 1989 protests made the guide nervous I think as it is dotted with police,soldiers and secret police. We saw several men being questioned and searched on the spot. We also visited a state run Silk factory, which was really interesting but we didn't get to see the workers in action. Traffic in Beijing is... Tricky. Indicators are optional - as in almost always never used. As is staying in your lane. And then there is trying to cross the road - you take your life into your own hands! Pedestrians DO NOT have right of way. It is an eye opener! And we went to the Silk Street Market on the first day. Wow! 4-5 floors of stalls where the "retail assistants" yell at you to look at their stuff, which is the same as the stalls next to them for 100 meters, and they are quite aggressively trying to get your attention. Jo, the shopping queen, was quite intimidated, as was I. Then we (I) decided it would be interesting to walk back to the hotel. Interesting, check. Hot, check! Lost, check! Haha we finally made it after an hour or more, again in 32+ degree heat. Anyway, got up at 6am this morning to leave for London - 23 hours ago. Will update with london info tomorrow. Jo has crashed and Grant has also gone to bed. My turn now. Will see if we can update from free McDonalds wifi -as suggested by hotel staff - tomorrow. Good night everyone Troy, Jo and Grant

Pre-trip welcome

Welcome to our blog! Jo, Troy and Grant are getting ready to take off on our big adventure, in 4 sleeps. We'll be heading to Beijing, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona, driving the south of France, Florence, Rome and finally Los Angeles. We'll blog the things we do and see so you can can keep a track of us. So keep an eye on this page and let's see where it takes us!